Chithha

''Chithha'' () is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film written and directed by S. U. Arun Kumar and produced by Siddharth, who stars in the lead role alongside Nimisha Sajayan (in her Tamil debut), and Anjali Nair in addition to Baby Sahasra Shree and Baby S. Aafiyah Tasneem in the prominent roles. The film revolves around the relationship between a paternal uncle and his niece which goes through several circumstances after the latter goes missing.

Kumar developed the story idea after he came across articles revolving around child sexual abuse and met with survivors of child abuse, government officials and NGOs to provide their feedback based on his ideas before finalising the script. The film was shot in and around Palani for 69 days. The cinematography was handled by Balaji Subramanyam and edited by Suresh A. Prasad. Dhibu Ninan Thomas and Santhosh Narayanan composed the soundtrack, while Vishal Chandrashekhar composed the film score.

''Chithha'' was released theatrically on 29 September 2023 to critical acclaim with praise for the performances, storytelling, direction and themes, and became a commercial success at the box office. At the 69th Filmfare Awards South, the film won seven awards including Best Film – Tamil.

Plot

Eeswaran is a government employee from Palani who bonds with his eight-year old niece Sundari and is quite protective of her. Eeswaran also has a couple of close friends, one of whom is a police officer named Vadivel, whose niece Ponni is good friends with Sundari. Unable to comprehend her elder sister's romantic conversation with her boyfriend, Ponni assumes that a bevy of deer is present in a forest area close to the school and asks Sundari if she would be interested in going to see the animals after school.

The two girls plan to leave Eeswaran and head to the area on their own. Ponni and Sundari board an auto rickshaw to the area as per the plan, but Sundari gets scared and leaves Ponni, who goes alone to see the area and is sexually assaulted. The next day, Ponni's father accuses Eeswaran of assaulting Ponni, but once Ponni recovers from her state of unconsciousness, it is discovered that Eeswaran is innocent.

Sundari leaves school unaccompanied but gets kidnapped by a pedophile. Eeswaran and the police set out to find Sundari, who has been kept captive for several days. Eeswaran finds out that the police have captured a suspect, but it turns out that the accused is actually Ponni's abuser, who was the auto rickshaw driver; Sundari's abuser was a different criminal. Eeswaran stabs the suspect in revenge for Ponni's abuse. Eeswaran's girlfriend, Shakthi, shares her past of being assaulted and asks him to forget about his vengeance. Eeswaran agrees and takes care of Sundari.

A year later, the police find a burnt corpse of the pedophile.

Cast

Production

Development and writing

Director S. U. Arun Kumar and actor Siddharth initially planned to collaborate on a film after the former's debut '' Pannaiyarum Padminiyum'' (2014), which did not materialize. In late 2019, post the release of ''Sindhubaadh'' (2019), Kumar developed a story idea for six months and eventually met Siddharth for a potential project. However, it was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India, during which he thought on how he should execute his ideas perfectly. Kumar then did a course on editing and screenwriting so that he could build a thesis on writing a cohesive screenplay.

The idea of the film derived from his experiences as he learnt across several incidents of child sexual abuse through newspapers and articles. Based on that, he wrote a novel titled ''Kolkata Days'' which was about Suryanelli rape case that happened in 1996. Those experiences eventually led him to develop the themes and ideas for this film. He researched across several incidents regarding child sexual abuses happened in real life and met police offers, NGO members and survivors of child sexual abuse. Based on the extensive research, he drafted 440 pages of the story idea and condensed it to 220 pages after rewrites; the script was then read by his team and their family members.

Besides acting in the lead role, Siddharth also produced the film under his Etaki Entertainment banner. On 17 April 2022, the film's project was announced under the tentative title ''Production No. 4'' referring to the company's fourth production venture. The film's title ''Chithha'' was announced in April 2023.

Casting and filming

According to Kumar, "if the casting is right 80 per cent of the work is done". Nimisha Sajayan was cast in the film as the first choice for Kumar; she went to Chennai for the story narration and impressed by it, she immediately agreed to be part of the film, as "Be it the character or the film, I felt it is something that has to come out in today's times."

For the role of Sundari and Ponni, Kumar auditioned numerous child artists back-to-back before finalizing Baby Sahasra Shree and S. Aafiyah Tasneem for their roles. Both actors were being a part of theatre training and performance workshops. Most of the artists featured in the film were newcomers, few of them were not in the industry background which led Kumar and his team conducting workshops to prepare for their roles. Rajesh Balachandran served as the acting coach.

The principal crew consisted of music composers Dhibu Ninan Thomas and Vishal Chandrashekhar; cinematographer Balaji Subramanyam, an assistant of Vijay Kartik Kannan; editor Suresh A. Prasad; and art director C. S. Balachander, who worked with Kumar in '' Pannaiyarum Padminiyum'' (2014) and ''Sethupathi'' (2016). ''Chithha'' was shot predominantly in and around Palani. The film's production was held for nearly 69 days before concluding in April 2023.

Themes

''Chithha'' revolves around the relationship between the paternal uncle and his niece, which is rare in Tamil cinema, as most films explored the maternal uncle's relationship. However, unlike being done in a melodramatic way, Kumar wanted to unfold the relationship drama into a thriller which was the main plot. Kumar revealed that the film revolves around child safety, which he thought that "before I began writing the script, the first line I wrote was that if I had a girl child, ''Chithha'' should be a film that the two of us could watch together. That was the rule."

Kumar did not want to portray the abuse from the perpetrator's point of view as it would become uncomfortable for the actor after looking back at the film years later. Instead he wanted to treat the subject in the most sensitive manner. He wanted the kids to watch the film and learn about it, knowing the fact that the film would be U/A certified. The finished film was showcased to psychiatrists, survivors of sexual abuse, NGO members, and others in the legal jurisdiction system, who approved the film as Kumar did not want to release a film that was problematic in any way in the excuse of cinematic liberty.

Kumar did not mention the usage of words like rape and abuse throughout the film, except for two instances: one scene in which the two characters inquire to the police officer about the incident, and the other which happens in the court. He did not want the term to be used when it was about kids. Sajayan's character Shakthi is a sanitation worker, which Kumar had chosen as he was also making a film that featured the sanitation department in the background and "metaphorically the young Sundari has only grown to become Sakthi. Her identity is not that of a rape survivor but a sanitation worker. And no job is inferior. I wanted to put that out there."

Kumar did not want Siddharth's character to take revenge against the pedophile as an heroic act, as according to him, "anybody who helps others or sacrifices is a hero." He said that the film ends with Eeswaran and Sundari on the hospital bed. But he added a couple of scenes, one of which is Sundari after the incident as "her identity did not lie in the hospital bed, but with a smile". Another sequence revolved around the two policemen finding the burnt body of a kidnapper. Regarding this scene, Kumar added:

"I had this scene because when the audience walks out of the theatre, they shouldn't think that a kidnapper could roam freely, and all that they can do is keep their kids always within their view ..The murder is not done by Siddharth because then the whole film would be wrong. That is why the police officer says that it could be anyone and that all that matters is the kidnapper being dead. It could’ve even been an accident."

Music

The songs for the film were composed by Dhibu Ninan Thomas and Santhosh Narayanan, while the background score was composed by Vishal Chandrashekhar.

Release

The film's first look was released by actor Kamal Haasan in April 2023. In August 2023, it was announced that the film would be released theatrically on 28 September 2023, with Red Giant Movies distributing the film across Tamil Nadu. ''Chithha'' was released alongside '' Chandramukhi 2'' and '' Iraivan'' on the same date. It was released in Telugu as ''Chinna'', Malayalam as ''Chitta'' and in Kannada as ''Chikku''.

''Chithha'' was showcased to school students across various parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The film's promotions for the Kannada version in Bangalore was interrupted due to threats from Karnataka Rakshana Vedike protesters over the Kaveri River water dispute. Prakash Raj and Shiva Rajkumar apologized to Siddharth on behalf of the protestors. The film was not simultaneously released in Telugu along with its Tamil and Kannada versions. After Daggubati Suresh Babu's Asian Cinemas acquired the distribution rights for its Telugu version, it was released in theatres across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on 6 October.

''Chithha'' opened in limited theatres across Tamil Nadu, but following the word of mouth, the film's shows and screens were increased. Within the end of the five-day weekend, the film collected at the box office. At the end of the film's theatrical run, the film earned in its lifetime. The film's streaming rights were acquired by Disney+ Hotstar which premiered it on 28 November 2023, two months after its theatrical release. ''Chithha'' was showcased at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne held from 15 to 25 August 2024.

Critical reception

''Chithha'' received critical acclaim from critics with praise directed on the performances, screenwriting, direction and themes. Several publications ranked the film as one of the "best Tamil films of 2023".

In a four-star rating, Sudhir Srinivasan of ''Cinema Express'' called it as "a sensitive, powerful film that breaks conventional rules of heroism." M. Suganth of ''The Times of India'' also gave four stars with and wrote "There are also a couple of tender moments amidst all the grimness. A survivor rushing towards a character and giving a hug, and a scene between two friends who have undergone a shared experience forging a stronger bond. It is such profound moments that elevate ''Chithha'' into something vital in these times." Kirubhakar Purushothaman of ''The Indian Express'' also assigned the same rating, summarizing it as "''Chithha'' is one of those rare amalgamations of everything perfect." Purushothaman also praised Siddharth's performance calling it as " isbest performance by far" and also the supporting actors for their "stand out" performances. K. Janani of ''India Today'' gave three-and-a-half stars and wrote "Chithha''' is a much-needed film with a solid message. This is truly a hard-watch but will leave with a good afterthought."

Thinkal Menon of ''OTTPlay'' also gave three-and-a-half stars and wrote "''Chithha'' is one of the must-watch films of the year, thanks to the terrific performances from lead actors, intriguing screenplay and the originality with which a sensitive subject is handled." Rajasekar S. of '' The Federal'' called it as a "must-watch for its message, exemplary writing and performances." Krishna Selvaseelan of the ''Tamil Guardian'' gave three-and-a-half stars and said the film "tears out the viewer's heart and holds it ransom – an impressive feat". Gopinath Rajendran of ''The Hindu'' wrote "Handling the sensitive issue of child sexual abuse with care, ''Chithha'' marks a befitting resurgence for both its director S. U. Arun Kumar and lead actor Siddharth." Harshini S. V. of ''Film Companion South'' called Siddharth's role as his "most affecting performance till date ..The actor makes it possible for us to go beyond his expressive eyes and get into his head." Akchayaa Rajkumar of ''The News Minute'' assigned four out of five and wrote "''Chithha'' is a necessary watch and a masterclass on how movies on child sexual assault can be sensitive and engaging without constantly triggering the audience."

Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam, Aishwarya Rajesh, Nayanthara and Silambarasan praised the film for its performances and storytelling. Director Halitha Shameem described it as "the film of the year".

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

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2020s Indian films
2020s Tamil-language films
2023 crime drama films
Films about child abuse
Films about child sexual abuse
Films about families
Films directed by S. U. Arun Kumar
Films scored by Santhosh Narayanan
Films scored by Vishal Chandrashekhar
Films shot in Palani
Indian crime drama films
Tamil-language crime drama films
Tamil-language Indian films

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